Dialog system for a man-machine interaction, comprising co-operating dialog devices

ABSTRACT

In known methods heretofore, a user was only able to be connected directly and inflexibly to a goal-directed dialog expert or to a chat-oriented dialog expert, also referred to as chat bot.  
     The present invention proposes a dialog system which will make it possible for a user to carry on a dialog with dialog experts ( 50, 60 ) having different capabilities, during an existing dialog session.  
     To this end, a terminal device ( 10, 20 ) is connected to a special switching device ( 40 ), which, in dependence upon his communicated user statement, provides him with the optimal system statement from a multiplicity of system statements received from various dialog devices ( 50, 60 ).

[0001] The present invention is directed to a dialog system for a man-machine interaction, which the user can use to communicate with various dialog experts.

[0002] Automated, goal-directed, interactive voice-communication systems or information systems operable by natural speech are known, which are able to access databases and which lead the user, through targeted questions, to desired information, to a transaction or the like. Typically, the dialog is carried out in a very rigid sequence of system questions and user responses. Examples of such goal-directed interactive voice-communication systems are, inter alia, telephone banking systems or card-reservation systems. One advantage of goal-directed dialog systems is their targeted querying of the user information necessary for the specific application.

[0003] However, a criticism users have of systems of this kind is that they are not flexible enough in their current state of development. This is because user statements which are not modeled in the application of the particular interactive voice-communication system, cannot be interpreted and often lead to irresolvable dialog situations where the interactive voice-communication system enters into a state where the same text is always output or the connection is interrupted.

[0004] In addition to such goal-directed dialog systems, there are also so-called chat dialog systems, also referred to as chat bots. A chat bot gives the user the impression that he/she can carry on a conversation with it about nearly any subject. Such a “chat-oriented” dialog system supports a very free formulation of questions, responses, and explanations, on the user side, so that a chatty-type dialog can take place between man and machine. One advantage of such a chat-oriented dialog system is that any user inputs at all are answered without being rejected. However, a chat-oriented dialog system is not suited for conducting a goal-directed informational dialog where it is necessary, for example, to query specific user information before the corresponding information can be found and output. For that reason, chat-oriented dialog systems or chat bots are often criticized by users as not being proficient enough, since neutral and pointless system remarks are often produced in response to non-modeled user statements.

[0005] The object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide users with a dialog system that is characterized by greater efficiency and flexibility.

[0006] A core idea of the present invention is that a user will no longer have to communicate in a rigid and inflexible manner in a session with one single dialog system. Instead, the user makes contact with a special switching device, which, in dependence upon his user statement, provides him with the optimal system statement from a multiplicity of system statements from various dialog devices. User and system statements are understood in the following to be both responses, as well as questions transmitted by a terminal device assigned to the user or by dialog devices. It is, therefore, the task of the switching device to receive a user statement produced by the user, to relay it to a plurality of dialog devices, to wait for the system statements from the dialog devices, and, in accordance with a defined logic, to output the most suitable system statement to the user.

[0007] The dialog devices may be generally known, goal-directed dialog devices and chat bots, which support an interaction with a user in the form of dialogs. Such dialog devices are also referred to in the following as dialog experts.

[0008] The present invention achieves the technical objective mentioned above, first of all, by employing the features of claim 1.

[0009] According to these features, a dialog system for a man-machine interaction is provided, which has at least one terminal device where a user may input a user statement. The user statement may be input into the terminal device, for example, by voice and by using a microphone; it may also be entered, however, via a keyboard. To achieve a high level of user friendliness, the user statement may also be entered in natural speech form, i.e., in natural sentences and questions. However, the manner in which a user statement is entered is not crucial for the present invention. At least one first switching device is also provided, which is able to be connected to the terminal device. Assigned to the first switching device are a plurality of dialog devices, which, in a generally known manner, are able to receive, analyze, and process user statements, in order to subsequently generate an appropriate system message. A system message includes a system statement intended for the terminal device, an identification code identifying the particular dialog device, and/or an identifier. The identifier may correspond to a hard decision, which, for example, merely signals to the first switching device whether a dialog device may or may not generate a system statement in response to a user statement. The identifier may also correspond to a soft decision, i.e., it indicates which performance or quality a generated system statement has. This means that it indicates the degree to which the generated system statement applies to the previously analyzed user statement.

[0010] To be able to offer the user an optimal dialog, the first switching device has a first device for relaying a user statement coming from a terminal device to at least some of the assigned dialog devices, as well as a second device, which, functioning in response to the system messages received from the dialog devices, selects a system message, and transmits the system statement contained therein to the terminal device.

[0011] To be able to communicate an optimized system statement, which may be a system response or a system question, to the user, the second device of the first switching device has a detector device for capturing the identifier and the identification code which are received in a system message. In addition, a memory device for storing a priority list is included in the second device. Using the priority list and the output signal from the detector device, a decision device, which may be separately designed or integrated with the detector device, selects the system statement of a specific dialog device, in order to relay it to the terminal device. The priority list contains the identification codes of each dialog device assigned to the first switching device, as well as the priority assigned to the particular dialog device.

[0012] Since, typically, the system messages received by the dialog devices are not able to be simultaneously processed in the first switching device, for example because the system messages from various dialog systems arrive at different points in time, the second device of the first switching device is provided with a memory for storing the received system messages or also only the system statements.

[0013] The decision device is designed, for example, to apply the identification code of the selected dialog device as a memory address to the memory, thereby enabling the system statement to be transmitted to the terminal device.

[0014] To be able to connect the terminal device to dialog devices of various manufacturers, and various dialog devices to the existing dialog system without substantial outlay, a user interface is assigned to the terminal device to provide a first communication protocol and/or data format for exchanging data with the first switching device. Moreover, each dialog device has an interface for preparing a second communication protocol and/or data format for exchanging data with the first switching device. Also, the first device of the first switching device has a conversion device for converting the first communication protocol and/or data format into the second communication protocol and/or data format and vice versa.

[0015] In order to avoid the situation, for example, where a user has to wait an unreasonable length of time for a response from a dialog device, a timer is provided in the first switching device to monitor the receipt of a system message within a preset time span. For example, following expiration of the preset time span, the user statement may be transmitted once more by the first switching device to the dialog devices, or, however, the first switching device considers only the system statements received within the preset time span.

[0016] Both the first switching device, as well as the dialog devices involved in a corresponding dialog may record the frequency with which their system statements are transmitted to the terminal device. For this, the first switching device has a confirmation device, for example, which transmits a confirmation message to the dialog device whose system statement has been relayed to the terminal device. Accordingly, at least some of the dialog devices have a device for counting and analyzing the confirmation messages received. In this manner, it is possible, for example, that a goal-directed dialog device, which has no longer been included in the dialog for a specific time span, generates a predefined, goal-directed system message, which is switched through by the detector device and the decision device in the first switching device, directly to the terminal device.

[0017] By recording the frequency with which system statements are relayed to a dialog device, the priority list may be dynamically adapted, during an existing dialog, to the dialog sequence. For example, a dialog device may be assigned a higher priority in the priority list afterwards, when, for example, the system statements of this dialog device are relayed very frequently to the terminal device. It is also possible that the user himself is able to change the priority list, by informing the first switching device of the type of dialog desired. In this manner, from the outset, a higher priority in the priority list may be assigned to the appropriate dialog device, in dependence upon the dialog desired by a user.

[0018] To further optimize the dialog system, a sub-switching device may be assigned to each dialog device, it being possible, in turn, for a plurality of sub-dialog devices to be assigned to each sub-switching device. For this purpose, the sub-switching device has a device, which transmits a user statement relayed by the dialog device, to at least some of the assigned sub-dialog devices. In addition, a device is provided, which, functioning in response to the system messages received by the sub-dialog devices, selects a system message and transmits it to the first switching device. Following this pre-weighting of system messages, in the manner described above, the first switching device then selects the system message whose system statement is to be transmitted to the terminal device.

[0019] Alternatively or in addition thereto, the performance and precision of the dialog system may be enhanced by connecting a second switching device between the terminal device and a plurality of first switching devices. The second switching device has a first device for relaying a user statement coming from the terminal device to at least some of the first switching devices. In addition, a second device is provided, which, functioning in response to the system messages coming from the first switching devices, selects a system message and transmits the system statement contained therein to the terminal device. In this approach, the first switching device must be designed for relaying a selected system message to the second switching device. In other words, in this case, the first switching device not only transmits the system statement, but also the identifier from the dialog device in question that is integrated in the system message, and the identification code.

[0020] The switching devices and/or sub-switching devices are designed to be able to inform the dialog devices or sub-dialog devices in question, of the dialog end. In this connection, the end of the dialog may be initiated by a specific dialog device, sub-dialog device, or by the user himself, for example by hanging up the telephone receiver.

[0021] The present invention also achieves the technical objective indicated above by employing the features of claim 14.

[0022] According to these feature, the dialog system includes at least one terminal device where a user may input a user statement. In addition, a plurality of interconnectible dialog devices are provided, which may be connected to the terminal device. Each dialog device has a device for receiving and analyzing a user statement generated by the terminal device, as well as a device for generating a system message in dependence upon the analyzed user statement. Moreover, a decision device is provided for relaying the user statement to another dialog device or for relaying a generated system message to the terminal device in dependence upon the analyzed user statement. For example, the dialog devices may be connected in series, so that one dialog device always relays a user statement to the dialog device that follows next when it itself is not able to generate a system message in response to a received user statement.

[0023] The present invention is elucidated in the following on the basis of several exemplary embodiments, in conjunction with the enclosed figures.

[0024]FIG. 1 shows a dialog system, including a plurality of various dialog experts, in which the present invention is implemented;

[0025]FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative specific embodiment of a dialog system, in which the present invention is implemented;

[0026]FIG. 3 depicts an alternative specific embodiment of a dialog system according to the present invention, including dialog experts connected in series; and

[0027]FIG. 4 shows a basic block diagram of a switching device in accordance with the present invention, as sketched in FIG. 1.

[0028]FIG. 1 shows one preferred exemplary embodiment of a dialog system, which, for purposes of a better and simpler representation, is only shown in extract. Thus, merely two terminal devices 10 and 20 are shown, which are each linked via a user interface 12 or 22 to a subscriber exchange 30. User interfaces 12 and 22 provide a communications protocol and/or data format, via which the terminal devices may exchange data with a switching device 40. For example, terminal device 10 is a telephone, and terminal device 20 a multimodal terminal. Via subscriber exchange 30, a user may establish a connection to switching device 40 by selecting a specific address. The switching device is described in greater detail in the following. Assigned to switching device 40 are a plurality of different dialog experts, of which merely the two dialog experts 50 and 60 are shown. In the following description, it is assumed that dialog expert 50 is suited for a goal-directed dialog, for example for a directory assistance, and that dialog expert 60 represents a so-called chat bot for a chat-oriented dialog.

[0029] Dialog experts 50 and 60 each have interfaces 52 and 62, respectively, which provide a specific communications protocol and/or data format for exchanging data with switching device 40.

[0030] Switching device 40 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 4. First of all, switching device 40 has a conversion device 44, which adapts the communications protocol and/or data format between interfaces 52 and 62 of dialog experts 50 and 60, respectively, and user interfaces 12 and 22 of terminal devices 10 and 20, respectively. This makes it possible for any desired terminal devices to be connected to any desired dialog experts. In addition, switching device 40 shown in FIG. 4 has a detector device 43, which is provided for recording system messages that may be generated by dialog experts 50 and 60. A system message is composed, for example, of the actual system statement intended for a terminal device, an identification code of the particular dialog expert, and of an identifier. The identifier may correspond to a hard decision which merely signals that the system message includes a system statement. The identifier may also correspond to a soft decision, in that it indicates the quality of a system statement with respect to an analyzed user statement. For a hard decision, the identifier may be represented by the binary digit “0”, i.e., no system statement has been generated, or by a “1”, i.e., a system statement has been generated. When an indication of the quality of the system statement is provided, the identifier may represent a number between 0 and 100, in order to define the measure of the quality. Thus, for example, number 100 corresponds to a system statement which applies optimally to the analyzed user statement.

[0031] Detector device 43 is able to capture the identifier and identification code of a received system message, and feed them to a decision device 42. In addition, decision device 42 is connected to a memory 46, in which a priority list is stored. In the present example, the priority list includes the identification codes of the two dialog experts 50 and 60, as well as the priorities assigned to the two dialog experts. For example, dialog expert 50 enjoys a higher priority than dialog expert 60. Detector device 43 may be linked to a memory 45 in which the entire system message or merely the system statement contained in a system message is stored. Decision device 42 is likewise connected to memory 45, in order to be able to select predefined system statements to be relayed to a terminal device. To this end, decision device 42 has a logic, which, in dependence upon the priority list in memory 46 and the identifier captured in a system message by detector 43, is able to decide whether the system message of dialog expert 50 or of dialog expert 60 should be relayed to a terminal device. In addition, decision device 42 may generate a confirmation message for the dialog expert, whose system statement has been relayed to a terminal device. Via a switch 47, the generated confirmation message is placed on the output line which leads to the appropriate dialog expert.

[0032] A control unit 41, which monitors and controls switching device 40, may, for example, log how often a system statement of the two dialog experts 50 and 60 has been relayed during a dialog session to the corresponding terminal device.

[0033] In addition, dialog experts 50 and 60 may each have a counting and evaluation device 54 and 64, respectively, to determine the frequency of the system messages generated by them and relayed to a terminal device during a dialog session with a terminal device. Counting and evaluation devices 54 and 64 also assure that a dialog expert is able to generate a predefined, preferably goal-directed system statement, when, within a preset time span, no more system statement from it has been relayed by switching device 40 to a terminal device. This predefined system statement is immediately switched through by the switching device to the terminal device.

[0034] Depending upon how many generated system statements have been relayed by dialog experts 50 and 60 to the particular terminal device, control unit 41 may undertake an adaptation of the priority list in memory 46. Should it turn out, namely, during a dialog session that the system statements from dialog expert 60 are made available much more frequently than from dialog expert 50, then, during this dialog session, dialog expert 60 may be assigned a higher priority than dialog expert 50. It is likewise conceivable to render possible a user-controlled adaptation of the priority list for a specific dialog session. If, for example, the user merely wants to “chat”, and no goal-directed information is needed, then, via his terminal device, he may transmit a control parameter to this effect to switching device 40, whereupon control unit 41 raises the priority of dialog expert 60 with respect to dialog expert 50.

[0035] Alternatively, the priority list may also reflect the usage of the participating dialog experts, the highest priority being assigned to the dialog expert having the lowest usage. For this purpose, each dialog expert may determine his usage and make this available to the assigned switching device. Moreover, the switching exchange itself could estimate the usage of the participating dialog experts on the basis of the corresponding response times.

[0036] To be able to offer the user a higher dialog quality, a sub-switching device 70 may be assigned to dialog expert 50, and a sub-switching device 80 to dialog expert 60. Three further dialog experts, 90, 191, and 90 are assigned to sub-switching device 70, whereas three other dialog experts 93, 94 and 95 are assigned to sub-switching device 80. In principle, sub-switching devices 70 and 80 may be designed similarly to switching device 40. Thus, sub-switching devices 70 and 80 each have devices 72 and 82, respectively, which retransmit the user statement relayed by the particular dialog expert 50 or 60 to at least some of the assigned sub-dialog experts 90 through 92 and 93 through 95, respectively. Conversely, the design of sub-switching devices 70 and 80 also includes detector and decision devices 74 and 84, respectively, which, functioning in response to the system messages received from sub-dialog experts 90 through 92 and 93 through 95, respectively, select a system message and transmit this directly or via assigned dialog experts 50 or 60 to switching device 40.

[0037]FIG. 2 shows an alternative specific embodiment of a dialog system which may offer a user an improved dialog. Two terminal devices 10 and 20 are connected, in turn, via corresponding user interfaces 12 and 22, respectively, to a subscriber exchange 30. Subscriber exchange 30 may connect terminal devices 10 and 20 to a main switching device 100, which is connected, in turn, to a plurality of switching devices. To simplify the illustration, only three switching devices 40′, 40″ and 40′″ are shown. Switching device 40′ is connected, for example, to two dialog experts 50′ and 60′, switching device 40″ to dialog experts 50″ and 60″, and third switching device 40′″ to dialog experts 50′″ and 60′″. Main switching device 100 has a transmission device 102, which relays the user statement coming from a terminal device to at least some of switching devices 40′, 40″ and 40′″. Switching device 40 according to FIG. 1 differs from switching devices 40′, 40″ and 40′″ according to FIG. 2 in that the last-mentioned switching devices not only relay the system statement, but the entire system message of a selected dialog expert, to main switching device 100. To this end, main switching device 100 has a detector and decision device 104, which, functioning in response to the system messages coming from switching devices 40′, 40″ and 40′″, selects an optimal system message and routes the system statement contained therein to the corresponding terminal device 10 or 20.

[0038]FIG. 3 shows another specific embodiment of a dialog system, in which terminal devices 10 and 20 are connected, in turn, via corresponding user interfaces 12 and 22, respectively, to a subscriber exchange 30. In addition, the dialog system has a cascade connection of, for example, three dialog experts 130, 140, and 150, which are able to carry on a dialog with terminal devices 10 and 20. Each dialog expert 130, 140 and 150 has a receiving and evaluation device 135, 145 and 155, respectively, for receiving and evaluating a user statement generated by a terminal device. Moreover, each dialog expert 130, 140 and 150 includes a device 136, 146 and 156, respectively, for generating a suitable system message as a function of the evaluated user statement. A decision device 137, 147 and 157 is provided in each dialog expert 130, 140, and 150. Decision devices 137, 147, and 157 may relay the user statement obtained from an end device to the following dialog expert when it is recognized that the dialog expert in question is not able to generate a suitable system statement in response to the received user statement. In addition, decision devices 137, 147 and 157 are able to transmit a generated system statement to the particular terminal device. It is assumed in the present example that terminal device 10 has been connected via exchange 30 to dialog expert 130. It is also assumed that dialog expert 130 is not able to generate any suitable system statement in response to the user statement coming from terminal device 10, so that the user statement is relayed to dialog expert 140. Since dialog expert 140 is able to generate an appropriate system statement, a connection is established at this point between terminal device 10 and dialog expert 140, and the generated system statement is transmitted to terminal device 10.

[0039] At this point, it is also noted that preferably all switching devices, sub-switching devices, dialog devices, and sub-dialog devices may be designed for the parallel, i.e., simultaneous handling of dialogs with a plurality of users.

[0040] With the aid of the proposed dialog systems, it is now possible to insert chat-oriented passages within predominately goal-directed dialog sessions, to prevent a dialog from being broken off or ending in a dialog loop when a goal-directed dialog expert is no longer able to meaningfully respond to a user statement. User statements which lie outside of the modeled domain of a goal-directed dialog expert, may then be handled in the “chatty style”, with the aid of a so-called chat bot. Thus, the possibility is opened up of going beyond the existing technological boundaries of the individual dialog experts in a user-friendly way. Overall, therefore, the performance of the proposed dialog systems leads to the ability to handle deviations in user objectives, and to more successful and user-friendlier dialogs.

[0041] Reference Symbol List

[0042]10, 20 terminal device

[0043]12, 22 user interface

[0044]30 subscriber exchange

[0045]40 switching device

[0046]40′, 40″, 40′″ switching device

[0047]41 control unit

[0048]42 decision device

[0049]43 detector device

[0050]44 conversion device

[0051]45 memory for system messages

[0052]46 memory for priority list

[0053]47 switch

[0054]50, 60 dialog device; dialog experts

[0055]50′, 50″, 50′″ dialog device; dialog experts

[0056]60′, 60″, 60′″ dialog device; dialog experts

[0057]52 interface

[0058]54 counting and evaluation device

[0059]62 interface

[0060]64 counting and evaluation device

[0061]70, 80 sub-switching device

[0062]72 device for transmitting a user statement

[0063]74 detector and decision device

[0064]82 device for transmitting a user statement

[0065]84 decision and detector device

[0066]90 through 95 sub-dialog device; sub-dialog expert;

[0067]100 main switching device

[0068]102 device for relaying a user statement

[0069]104 detector and decision device

[0070]130 dialog expert; dialog device

[0071]135 receiving and evaluation device

[0072]136 device for generating a system statement

[0073]137 decision device

[0074]140 dialog device; dialog experts

[0075]145 receiving and evaluation device

[0076]146 device for generating a system statement

[0077]147 decision device

[0078]150 dialog device; dialog experts

[0079]155 receiving and evaluation device

[0080]156 device for generating a system statement

[0081]157 decision device 

What is claimed is:
 1. A dialog system for a man-machine interaction having cooperating dialog devices, comprising at least one terminal device (10, 20), where a user can input a user statement; at least one first switching device (40; 40′, 40″, 40′″)), which is connectible to the terminal device (10, 20); a plurality of dialog devices (50, 60), which are assigned to the first switching device (40) and which, functioning in response to a user statement, are able to generate system messages; the first switching device (40) having: a first device (44) for relaying a user statement coming from a terminal device to at least some of the assigned dialog devices (50, 60); and a second device (49), which, functioning in response to the system messages received from the dialog devices (50, 60), selects a system message and transmits the system statement contained therein to the terminal device (10, 20).
 2. The dialog system as recited in claim 1, wherein the system message generated by a dialog device (50, 60), functioning in response to a user statement, includes a system statement intended for the terminal device (10, 20), an identification code identifying the dialog device (50, 60), and/or an identifier, the identifier signals whether or not a system statement has been generated for a terminal device, or what quality the generated system statement has; and the second device (49) of the first switching device (40) has a detector device (43) for capturing the identifier and the identification code of a system message, a memory (46) for storing a priority list of the assigned dialog devices, and a decision device (42), which, using the stored priority list and the output signal from the detector device (43), selects the system statement of a specific dialog device (50, 60) in order to relay it to the terminal device (10, 20).
 3. The dialog system as recited in claim 1 or 2, wherein the second device (49) of the first switching device (40) has a memory (45) for storing the received system messages.
 4. The dialog system as recited in one of claims 1 through 3, wherein a user interface (12, 22) is assigned to the terminal device (10, 20) to provide a first communication protocol and/or data format for exchanging data with the first switching device (40); the dialog devices (50, 60) each have an interface (52, 62) for providing a second communication protocol and/or data format for exchanging data with the first switching device (40); and the first device of the first switching device has a conversion device (44) for converting the first communication protocol and/or data format into the second communication protocol and/or data format and vice versa.
 5. The dialog system as recited in one of claims 1 through 4, wherein the first switching device (40) has a timer for monitoring the receipt of a system message within a preset time span.
 6. The dialog system as recited in one of claims 2 through 5, wherein the first switching device (40) has a confirmation device for transmitting a confirmation message to the dialog device (50, 60) whose system statement has been relayed to the terminal device (10, 20).
 7. The dialog system as recited in claim 6, wherein at least some of the dialog devices (50, 60) have a device (54, 64) for counting and analyzing the received confirmation messages.
 8. The dialog system as recited in claim 7, wherein functioning in response to the counting and evaluation device (54, 64), the dialog devices (50, 60) are able to generate a predefined system message, and, functioning in response to a predefined system message, the detector device (43) in the first switching device (40) prompts the decision device (42) to transmit the corresponding system statement to the terminal device (10, 20).
 9. The dialog system as recited in one of claims 2 through 8, wherein the priority list (46) stored in the first switching device (40) is able to be modified.
 10. The dialog system as recited in one of claims 1 through 9, wherein a sub-switching device (70; 80) is assigned to each dialog device (50; 60); and a plurality of sub-dialog devices (90-92; 93-95) are assigned to each sub-switching device (70; 80).
 11. The dialog system as recited in claim 10, wherein each sub-switching device (70; 80) has the following features: a device (72, 82) for transmitting a user statement relayed by the particular assigned dialog device (50; 60) to at least some of the assigned sub-dialog devices (90-92; 93-95); and a device (74; 84), which, functioning in response to the system messages received from the sub-dialog devices (90-92; 93-95), selects a system message and transmits it to the first switching device (40).
 12. The dialog system as recited in one of claims 1 through 11, wherein goal-directed and chat-oriented dialog devices can be used.
 13. The dialog system as recited in one of claims 1 through 12, wherein a second switching device (100) is connected to the terminal device (10, 20) and to a plurality of first switching devices (40′, 40″, 40′″); the second switching device (100) having: a first device (102) for relaying a user statement coming from the terminal device (10, 20) to at least some of the first switching devices (40), and a second device (104), which, functioning in response to the system messages received from the first switching devices (40′, 40″, 40′″), selects a system message and transmits the system statement contained therein to the terminal device (10, 20); and the first switching devices (40′, 40″, 40′″) being designed for relaying a selected system message to the second switching device (100).
 14. A dialog system for a man-machine interaction having cooperating dialog devices, comprising at least one terminal device (10, 20), where a user can input a user statement, a plurality of interconnectible dialog devices (130, 140, 150), each dialog device (130, 140, 150) having: a device (135, 145, 155) for receiving and evaluating a user statement generated by the terminal device; a device (136, 146, 156) for generating a system message in dependence upon the analyzed user statement; a decision device (137, 147, 157) for relaying the user statement to another dialog device (130, 140, 150) or for relaying a generated system message to the terminal device (10, 20) in dependence upon the analyzed user statement. 